For the Love of Time!
by KiTtEn18sMiLe
Summary: I was bored...so I decided to do a time-travel fic...and this one is going to be completly different. I racked my brain trying to figure out a way to individualize it from the custom; 'Oh lets save Haku and Zabuza and make Naruto Bada**'- At least read the first chapter and give me some feedback. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- Hi! This is your writer speaking. **

**I am currently extremely pissed off. I had written four chapters for a new fic called 'A Tragic Switch', three chapters for 'Home', and two chapters for 'Hidden Strength', 'Prodigy', 'Anything is better than one', 'Reign of Blood' and 'Ice Prince; revamped'. And ALL OF IT GOT DELETED. *Insert hysterical laughter***

**I have no idea how! **

**Than I was like OK I saved it on my flashdrive. So I was inwardly rejoicing. Thanking myself for thinking of saving it. **

**So I found my flashdrive in my little brother's room, connected to his Xbox 360. I thought nothing of it, I was just too happy I found it. I plugged it in…and everything was DELETED.**

**Apparently the little brat needed data space and deleted all of my shit. I am so pissed that I don't even want to look at my stories right now. The sad thing is that I never even got a chance to post 'A Tragic Switch' so you guys don't even know what you're missing out on! So I started writing this one.**

**Just until I remember what the fudge I wrote.**

**Also during my little (large) self-imposed sabbatical from the throngs of the fanfiction world; I had the time to reread all of my stories and decide where I want to go with them and what needs to get rewritten completely. I also realized my writing was severely lacking. **

'**Ice prince' was rushed.**

'**Withered heart' was too emotional with no time to develop.**

'**Abstinence' was also rushed and the timeline meshed.**

'**Red lust' kept true to its name but happened within the supposed span of a month and I was too focused on the Fuji/Ryo pairing that I did little to nothing in the development of the other characters.**

'**Reign of blood' seems to be going fairly well but I continue to find contradictions within the story itself.**

'**Home' seems to be on the borderline but the randomness of my chapters makes me wonder if I should have listed it beneath a parody or something within the realms of comedy and FOR THE LOVE OF KAMI how did NO ONE comment on the disgusting use of 'I's in my first chapter of 'Home'. After I read that chapter (multiple times) I was prepared to ban said word from my vocabulary. If you have no idea what I'm talking about…reread the first chapter.**

**And in all of my stories; I continue to find little grammar mistakes and typos. **

**Pairing Harem- Naruto/ Kurenai/ Yugito/ Anko/ FemHaku (Will not change, this is the definite pairing. Also please note that in the pairing above I wrote FEMHAKU as in NOT MALE. If you have any issues with that please do not read my fic. Frankly, because I don't want to hear bull.) **

**Disclaimer; -_- …Do I really need to answer that.**

**Also the flashbacks are going backwards. So the first flashback was the most recent, the second flashback happened before the first and so on. As far as the timeline goes.**

For the Love of Time!

Chapter One

He could feel it; the rumble in his chest. The deep foreboding stemming from the sewers of his stomach and creeping into the walls of his heart, and there it stayed lining the walls making them brittle and ready to crumble. He could feel the ache, the pull, the dull throbbing from his grumbling tenant.

But he wasn't ready. His mind could not recede; at least not yet. He needed to know, to check, and to be positive that the deed was done. His friend was calling to him, calming his shattered mind; pleading with him to fall unconscious; not to see.

Naruto ran; his determination being the only thing keeping his body from failing him. With the speed of a sage, he still felt unbearably slow. His actions felt clumsy and his head felt light. He ran in his dreamlike world, with his destination seen but still so far out of reach.

He tried so hard. But he knew he wouldn't make it. What he wanted to make; he didn't know. It was just an instinct.

With his mind and body so attuned to nature chakra; he felt every living organism, every plant, anything in the possession of chakra. And he felt when the chakra of whom he was so acclimated with, disappeared.

He failed.

Right when it mattered most.

His blue eyes flashed along the landscape as he cleared the trees; unwillingly catching sight of eight bodies, his worst fear. It was something he never wanted to see. Something no one would ever want to see. As a man who has loved and felt that love returned; the sight was damning. His most precious people; his entire world, and his heart crumbled.

He staggered, nearly tripping as he took in the sight. The disgust in him, at his failure, briefly overshadowed at the realization that four of the eight were moving. He wanted to find solace in that. His children lived, but now he had to endure the pain without his wives. They were the four women who showed him the meaning of love, the holders of his fragile heart that acknowledged him. They were the people that took the time to get to know him, to see him for who he truly was. He could see it, from where he stood as his children grieved. They were dead.

His heart…it broke. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. It was just a matter of existing. And again he felt the pull. His lifelong friend and tenant were trying to trap him within the light of his mind; to save him from the pain, to speak with him. But once more he couldn't; not yet.

"Dad." It was a broken sob; one that he would recognize anywhere. His eldest son was the first to speak, calling for his father, calling for Naruto. But the man was too shocked; his son needed comfort but the shinobi needed affirmation. He had to know that the sight before him wasn't a nightmare or Genjutsu but reality.

"Dante…Is she?" Naruto paused; his throat closed on him. He couldn't speak. How could he ask his son this? His little innocent boy, that couldn't even move his eyes. His beautiful red eyes couldn't stray from his mother's face. Naruto stared as **he** stared, his deep blue gaze boring into the lifeless eyes of his wife…and he remembered.

_Flashback_

_ He stood in the forest behind the Hokage Monument. The forest just outside his heritage; it was his family home. The subtle thrum of insects buzzing and birds chirping were overshadowed by the constant metronome of repetitious thumps. And with each thump a single grunt slipped past his pursed lips._

_ "What are you doing?" She asked as Naruto trained. Most people would have been surprised by her presence but he was used to her curiosity; after all it was her curiosity that brought them together in the first place. His fists punching holes in the bark, his jutsu's uprooting trees and landscape. He was angry, frustrated and worried. She asked knowing full well what he was doing; so he edited her question in his mind to 'why?'_

_He had a one track mind. But his emotions were wild. "Tsunade-baachan made me Rokudaime Hokage." His chest puffed out with false pride. He felt her red-eyed gaze on his form, and his shoulders slumped. He was disappointed in himself. He wanted this for so long; the acknowledgement of the village, of his people. But for a while now the only thing keeping him sane was his girlfriends; the four women he would do anything for. It was his secret from all of his friends. That he found love._

_Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand…isn't that your dream?" He paused mid punch; as his own furrowed as well. _

"_It was." He assented before turning to face her; a soft smile played along the corners of his lips. "It's just…" How could he tell her? __**How**__...does he tell her that he loves her? His words changed before they even left his mouth. "…I have so many enemies." _

_**Pfttt! 'You're such a coward, kit.'**_

'_Keep out of this furball.'_

'_**Whatever; grow a pair.'**_

_He could see the confusion in her eyes; in the way she stood. Arms crossed, resting along her stomach; almost demanding for the truth. He watched her confidence as his eyes roamed her body. Along her lithe figure, trailing her porcelein skin, and resting on her usually stoic visage. She didn't shift or look uncomfortable, if anything she smirked._

'_That little minx.'_

'_**Vixen.'**_

'_Maa maa; technicalities. That women is after my heart.'_

_It truly __**was **__his hope but for a while now his dream has been simple…he wanted a family. To want anything else was just… for lack of better term, troublesome. He wanted a child to spoil and he wanted a wife to love; or in his case wives. So he spoke the truth… "When I'm announced as hokage, I don't know what's going to happen." He stared at the ground before looking at her. He stole a glance from beneath his lashes._

"_The villagers love you…" He smiled more somberly at her words._

"_I know they do…now. But it's not the villagers I'm worried about or even my enemies really. I'm worried about what they would do… about my family." He peeked once more and immediately noticed her confusion. He realized she wouldn't understand what he meant. So he had to give her another nudge. "Or at least the family I want." This time he caught her reaction and smiled as her cheeks tinted red. Just a tender shade lighter than her vibrant eyes. She froze and Naruto would've chuckled had he not been so serious. She looked so adorable with her wide red eyes._

_He strode forward, steeling his resolve._

"_I don't care about being Hokage anymore. I want a family; a big family and I want to protect them…you." He lifted his right hand and cradled it against her cheek. And he felt her melt in his arms, her legs failing her. He wrapped his right arm around her waist. "Kure-hime." His voice became softer as she stared at him and he swallowed, pushing down the persistent lump in his throat; her eyes watering at the words she knew would leave his lips. "I love you; and I would do anything to keep you safe...Fate, destiny words I once berated Neji for, I now thank for leading me to you." He tilted her face closer to his. And he grazed her lips with his own. "I love you so much." He spoke lowly, sending tingles down her spine; waking her from her stupor. _

_She spoke against his lips. "I love you too." _

_They both leaned in at the same moment and kissed feverishly. Their need clamping around the other. Driving them both into each others arms. His right hand cradled her lower back as his left continued to hold her face against his. Her hands wrapped around his frame, creeping up his sides and latching onto his shoulders pushing his body flush against her own. And pulling her body higher so she stood on the tips of her toes._

_He stooped lower, losing his mind to his heart._

_End Flashback_

He mentally shook himself, unprepared for the remembrance. His mind craving more, but knowing such a moment would never come again.

"She's not breathing, dad." Dante wept above his mother. His dark red eyes were unfocused and glazed.

The boy just couldn't understand why this happened. Just a few hours prior; they had been happy. He was being hounded by fangirls, while he walked around his village. In a manner only taught to him by his mother. He ignored them and kept a distance with a carefree aloof air that only Kashi-nii could compare to.

It just didn't make sense! They were so happy. They're the perfect family.

He leaned back and just lay with her; his head above her heart. "She's not breathing." He spoke hallowly, in a voice that could freeze your heart. And he continued to cry; only now, no sound escaped his lips. He kept silent, his pain held in secret as his fists laid limply above his mothers hands.

Naruto watched as his son began taking in the reality of his mother's death; of his wife's death. He choked on the thought; bile rising in his throat.

It was his turn to take it in; to grasp it; to understand his sons' confirmation. "She's not breathing." He mumbled, more to himself than to anyone else. The words tasted wrong and tainted. He knew what those words meant. His Kure-hime was dead… And Naruto felt a part of his heart break off.

-o-O-o-

The night froze and the wind stilled. The bleakness broken by the strangled hushed plea of his daughter.

"Kaa-san. Please move...breath...do something, anything!" She cried, and Naruto's head moved mechanically to his right. He took in the sight and would have gasped if he could even catch his breath. His mind was already shattered.

Her skin; that was usually a beautiful creamy white, was now tinged red; it took him a second to feel relieved that the blood was not her own. But in the next moment; as the revelation that it was his wife's blood settled into his brain, did he truly feel disgusted with himself. He couldn't even find happiness in the thought that his daughter escaped harm.

He watched her weep as snow fell; just above them. Isis definitely took after her mother; in every aspect. The sight of snow falling in a single area would normally be an anomaly; but not for them, they who knew that such a power was held in tandem with their emotions.

Her chocolate brown eyes were just as wonderful as her mothers. His Yuki Megami was the one who gave him a reason to protect those precious to him; the one who showed him his nindo. He could only watch dumbfounded as she wept.

"Do something, anything." She whispered as she desperately tried to pull life from her mother's deadened eyes. Naruto watched as she rested her head above her chest. The snow that fell melting upon contact, leaving tracks of water along the child's cheeks.

The sky was crying with her.

_Flashback_

_Naruto walked into the village without his red-eyed goddess. She strayed to the back with her team. It was moments like these that he wished he could tell everyone about their relationship. But at this point in time no one knew. And no one would know until he either left the leaf or became Hokage. Such a decision would have to wait. With the war over and only Madara remaining, he was almost ready to settle down._

_He needed someone; to just lean on. As an orphan growing up completely alone; he wanted to feel the warmth that comes with the comfort of those that love you._

_The grieving blond ignored the procession he led, and just walked.; having already spoken his words to the crowd, his last remembrance. It was during that time that he revealed the very well-kept secret that his mentor was in fact his godfather. Such an announcement raised a lot of questions and he would answer them soon; just not now._

_He felt everyone's gazes as he scaled the bridge; stopping at the very top. He felt the air flutter through his hair, ruffling it, and his sage coat. It was the last true piece of evidence of the sennin training him. True he never got to finish under the man, but that was unavoidable. He held the urn in his hands. It was in essence the most precious thing he had ever held. And it would continue to be, until the birth of his children. His children, the thought brought a gentle smile to his lips. It was a rare temporary moment of peace._

_His blue-eyed gaze returned to the center of the bridge and remembered the words his mentor spoke. In one of the rare moments during their training trip where he hadn't acted the pervert and earned the right to be called his Kyofu and Sensei. _

_He uncapped the urn as he remembered. 'If I die I want you to burn my body and spill it off this bridge.' It was such a crude statement that was said entirely absentmindedly. Naruto turned to face his mentor with a quizzical expression. But the old man continued, ignoring the youngers gaze. 'I don't care if it takes a couple years after my death, as long as you do it Naruto. I want to be remembered at your first greatest achievement…I missed a lot of your life going after the snake-teme and missed a lot of firsts. Your first step, first word, first jutsu…but the place where you first fell in love; I think I want to be here.' Jiraiya turned towards Naruto with a warm smile one that he could almost see even now; and spilled its contents; allowing it to scatter through the wind. He watched with a small smile as the particles of his late-sensei flew away. _

_Naruto stared at the sky, willing rain, but he couldn't, just as he couldn't cry. He hadn't grieved, but this was what he wanted. _

…_to be scattered off 'The Great Naruto Bridge.'_

_He took a hearty breath and channeled chakra to his feet as he sat at the tip of the salvation of wave. He ignored everyone and everything and waited; listening as the crowd dispersed. He knew his loves were concerned for him, but he needed this. He needed to confirm what his Kyofu said. He needed it to be real; he needed her to be real. He looked at the sky as a misty breeze fell over his face, momentarily reveling in the coolness of the damp frost. _

_He remembered… 'Amazing things, shadow clones, just add a little blood and they can pass for the real thing.' He spoke pensively, 'Have you looked at the graves since you buried them?' _

_Naruto had looked at his mentor uncomprehendingly, almost angry for him having said something like that to him, but his puzzlement at the question overrode his anger. 'I visit them every time I come to wave. Why Ero-sennin?'_

_Jiraiya just chuckled rubbing the back of his head. 'Nothing, never mind just thinking aloud, I guess. Ignore me! I'm an old man… I prattle on.' _

_Naruto's deep blue gaze fell on the water and the reflection of everything above. He watched as light turned to dark and still he waited._

_Until finally; he heard a rustle beside him. His head turned to the noise slowly almost fearful of what he would see and watched the remnants of an ice mirror melt into the ground. He felt the anticipation swell in his chest, so much that it ached. "He was precious to you." The voice murmured behind him and his heart skipped a beat. He was scared to talk, afraid his voice would crack. He nodded slowly; swallowing the lump in his throat. _

"_He is." He corrected. Death meant little to him, because as long as he lived Jiraiya would always remain precious in his world. _

_He turned to face her, failing to hold in a gasp. She looked even more beautiful than he had last seen her. She wore a dark blue kimono that fell mid-thigh, where bandages proceeded to wrap down mid-calf. The sleeves trailed her arms tightly, bound in an odd crisscrossing pattern to her wrists. Her hair was held in an elegant bun by two senbon needles, with few strands falling, framing her creamy white cheeks. His eyes trailed her ruby pursed lips, around her nose, through her blushing cheeks and straight into her liquid chocolate pools._

"_Haku-chan…how?" He stared at her as she settled in beside him. _

"_Does it matter?" She responded, wrapping her arms around his waist, snuggling into his side, resting her head on his shoulder. "Were together again, and I won't leave you." Her head nestled into the crook of his neck._

_She allowed a smile to grace her lips as he wrapped his arms around her pulling her closer to his body. "No I suppose it doesn't matter." He spoke softly, and a foxy smile flashed across his own._

_End Flashback_

Isis lay beside her mother and held the hand that lay above her chest. She spoke quietly, "Please Kaa-san." With no strength left in her voice, having already screamed herself hoarse. She buried her face in her mother's hair, something she hadn't done since she was a baby. And just stared, no tears fell from her cheeks as she clutched her mother.

A layer of frost dusted the grass around their fallen forms. Flowers frozen only to break off and shatter on the ground. And with her death another piece of his heart shattered.

-o-O-o-

Tremors shook the ground in an unnatural way. "Damnit!" exclaimed the mirror image of Naruto when he was thirteen; who seemed to be on the verge of losing himself. Arashi pounded on the ground in anger cracking the hard rock; sending fissures through the ground. His appearance became more feral, while he growled; a low guttural noise of anger, sadness and grief.

He pushed out a wave of his power, toppling trees. Naruto had moved towards his son only to get thrown back by the force of his chakra. Cerulean eyes simply stared, allowing his sons emotions to run it's course. He watched as his son hovered over his mother and Naruto's wife. Just watching how he shook, with his hands clenched so tightly.

"Damnit Tou-san, what do we do?" He howled through the sobs, as tears trailed down his battle dirtied cheeks. Arashi's eyes hunted along the sky, searching for an answer. He fell to his knees beside his mother. "There has to be something!"

His fists unfurled and trapped a lock of her hair in between his thumb and forefinger. In a show of uncharacteristic softness and gently placed the lock behind her ear. "I would do anything."

_Flashback_

"_Even go against those that you love?" His onyx eyes flashed. "Because that's what I did. That's what __**I**__ gave up." He was so angry and yet oddly calm, like a true Uchiha. He refused to see reason. For the longest time he believed that the last of his family would be his salvation until it was taken from him. How could he redeem himself now that his brother was dead? Now that Konoha had all but fallen, where did his allegiance lie? "I gave up my family to protect Konoha. And you're doing the opposite." His ire rose as the object of his frustrations remained silent. "Why are you here? Konoha needs you!"_

_The blonde before him shook, his lips settled into a frown; as his hair shadowed his eyes. He balled his hands into fists and bit his lip. He knew Konoha needed him but he knew that she needed him more. He felt it; he felt her call to him. It was unexplainable even to him._

_He stood above the head of a previous kage and watched the raging waterfall._

_He had no time to grieve the loss of Sasuke. "He was my brother too." He spoke so mutely that even Itachi couldn't hear him. The blonde stared into the clashing depths of deep blue water and remembered him. The boy he fought and the man he grew into; the one who still remained loyal. He remembered their clashes in this spot. _

_It wasn't the end of their friendship…it was the beginning. It was the first of a final understanding; being able to share and shoulder each others' burden. _

_But right now was not the time for this; this conversation had already lasted long enough. He could feel her calling to him. He needed to be there; he needed to hurry. He could hear her; her agony as they played with her, slicing her, stabbing her. It was unbearable. A single tear trailed down his cheek. "I'm coming for you love." He mumbled quietly and felt the pain in his heart lessen, like she heard him._

"_For love?" Itachi scoffed at the thought. For 'love' was such a foreign word in his mind. He killed his entire family for the safety of Konoha. He left his own brother in the hopes that maybe his brother would avenge him. Create bonds and protect them, and he did… just not the way he had hoped. Sasuke died and Naruto was leaving. Why would he leave the safety of the leaf when so many are hunting him? Why would he do such a thing? All the while both knew that if he were caught, Konoha would fall along with the rest of the elemental nations._

"_Yes." The Uchiha paused and turned to his blonde haired friend/ enemy, it seemed to them that with the death of Sasuke Uchiha the lines between the two had blurred. Naruto had become a brother to him. Because of Sasuke…_

"_Why are you doing this?" Itachi wanted to understand, to see why he would give his life away._

"_I always wondered why there were no bodies, and Pein told me. Their still alive." He smiled softly. He was so happy, his first friend, he thought he lost her. But with Peins dying words, he had to see for himself. The fact that he had always been able to feel her, he thought it was just a phantom of their past, but with this, he knew she was calling to him._

"_So you're going to let the world fall for her?"_

"_Why does it have to be, either, or!?Konoha or family? Damn you Uchiha. No, I will save Konoha and those that I love!" He spoke vehemently before turning his voice softer calming himself down. Regulating his voice, keeping his determination held within his eyes; he turned to stare the Uchiha down, directly into his onyx eyes that looked so much like his brothers. "…because their precious to me. I'm telling you Itachi, join me and we'll protect them together." Naruto shifted out of his crouch and moved towards the last loyal Uchiha. "I love Konoha and its entire people and I will protect her, just help me get my kitten back."_

_Itachi visibly deflated as Naruto extended a hand of friendship. It was then that Naruto saw something he hadn't seen in years…an Uchiha smile. "I will help you Naruto and only you…brother." He moved away, turning his back to Naruto._

"_Where are you going?" Itachi turned back just long enough to speak five words that left a blushing Naruto and a smirking sharingan wielder._

"_To get you're kitten...Yugito-san."_

_End Flashback_

"Go-gomen nasai kaa-san. Come back." Arashi knelt beside her fallen form, and shook in his grief. "Gomen, I wasn't strong enough Kaa-san."

Naruto couldn't look anymore, it just hurt too much. He got her back just to lose her again. How could this be happening? He lost his kitten, his Yugi-chan.

Naruto fell to his knees in the center of loves of his life.

-o-O-o-

He couldn't look anymore. No more, please. But he had to. He had to see for himself. But he knew his An-chan was gone. She was his purple haired goddess, sadistic, blood fetish love.

His hands cradled his head as he turned. He had to see, it needed to be confirmed. He needed to see her. His heart squeezed in anguish; it was already beating so fast. And he felt it stutter.

He gasped, unprepared; as he gazed upon his last wife.

His face went blank, until small arms snaked around his torso and a face buried itself into his side. "She's gone Tou-san." She sniffled and continued to cry, as he engulfed his youngest in his arms. His daughter. His eyes flickered to the sky thanking Kami that she was safe.

"I know Nami." His lips trembled over the words.

He didn't want to think about Anko. She was the first women to ever love him, even if he was too oblivious for it; the one who protected him from the shadows. So much of their lives were spent together. She was the one who gave him his Kure-hime, the one who made him strong enough to go to wave and fall in love, the one who convinced him to go on the training trip with his Kyofu where he first met his kitten. She was the one who made his life amazing.

And it was also the hardest…because of that snake-teme. They worked so hard to reverse the damage until finally they could have Nami. Our hope, she is the most absolutely pure thing in his world.

He felt his children coming, getting closer, until four sets of arms held onto him. Isis knelt on his other side hugging his torso; gripping Nami's wrists as she gripped hers. Dante hugged Nami burying his head into her shoulder; as Arashi hugged Isis, his head under her left arm.

Naruto smiled softly at his children. '_Is there really no way to fix this?'_

'_**There is kit.' **_Naruto froze his body stiffening; as well as his children. Knowing they all heard their fox tenant. Arashi spoke first in eagerness.

'_What do we do Jiji?' _

**A/n- OC'S**

**Dante Uzumaki Namikaze Yuuhei**

**Kurenai/ Naruto's son. **

**Age 14**

**Cropped, chin-length midnight black hair. **

**Dark ruby red eyes. **

**Tall, 5'6 lean.**

**Wiry muscles. Built more for flexibility than strength. **

**Kenjutsu master and Genjutsu apprentice to his mother. **

**Dubbed, 'The God of Gen- Ken-jutsu'.**

**Isis Uzumaki Namikaze Yuki**

**Haku/Naruto's daughter.**

**Age 14**

**5'3**

**Long wavy black hair with tints of blond along the roots. And streaks within.**

**Chocolate brown eyes.**

**Very fair skin, a creamy white.**

**Strong but not muscled.**

**Kekkai Genkai- Ice user. Control over ice.**

**Dubbed and inheritor of the title, 'The Goddess of Ice."**

**Arashi Uzumaki Namikaze Nii**

**Yugito/ Naruto's son.**

**Age 13**

**Cropped, spiky blonde hair.**

**Crystal blue eyes.**

**5'5 **

**Muscled built more for strength. With uncharacteristic finesse.**

**Three cat-like whiskers adorning each cheek.**

**Dubbed, 'The Storm God."**

**Nami Uzumaki Namikaze Mitarashi**

**Anko/ Naruto's daughter.**

**Age 13**

**Short, shoulder length purple hair.**

**Lightly tanned skin.**

**Emerald eyes.**

**5'3**

**Lean and flexible- perfect for the hebi style. Strong and forceful- like a wave.**

**Dubbed, 'The Sea Goddess.'**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Kyuubi speech**_

_Inner thinking_

'_Speaking through sign language.'_

"Actual dialogue."

"_Conversations with Kyuubi."_

For the Love of Time!

Hime's?

It was hard to see, to open his eyes, to know what he did. "_I came back…without them." _Bile rose in his throat, forcing his body to move; and threw up violently over the side of his bed. "_Without them. What have I done?"_ He swallowed convulsively, trying to clear his mind, as he moved away from the edge.

It was a momentary shock, one that seemed to last forever as he lay on this familiar yet unfamiliar mattress. Its springs dug into his back, and his cerulean eyes gazed at his dilapidated ceiling. The cracks and fissures ran along the length. While a cold draft swept through the bedroom. It was a bitter reminder.

"_They're gone…Anko, Kurenai, Yugito, Haku… Nami, Dante, Arashi, Isis, my babies. All of them aren't here anymore. I'm alone again."_

It was a cold thought that he couldn't shy away from. Tears fell from his whiskered cheeks. The grief was still fresh; maybe this decision was for the best, they wouldn't have to see him like this. "_What do I do? This hurts so much." _

"_Kyuu-jii-san?" _His mind recoiled, as silence remained and rang strong in his mind. "_Talk to me." _Nothing. The silence hurt more than anything he had ever felt before. It pained him, as an orphan like him; someone who grew up without the love and comfort of a family. One who grew into a man and created what he had been forsaken, just to lose it all in a day.

He cried. It hurt so much._ "My family, my whole world, and they're…"_

His left hand clenched at the sheets of his bed while his right clamped above his heart in an attempt to rid it of that painful ache. "_They're gone, they're all gone."_ His breathing shortened as his legs moved up to his chest, his left arm wrapped around them. "_Oh Kami what have I done? What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?" _

_**Kit! Get a hold of yourself!**_

"_Oh Kami, what did I do!"_

_**Ki-**_

"_They're gone! They're all gone! It's all my fault, I should've protected them. I shouldn't have left. What was I thinking?" _

_**Kit calm-**_

_That's just it I wasn't thinking! And now my kids…I left my kids. Kami, I abandoned my children. I can't believe it, I can't. My kids, my babies, my sochi's, my little Nami goddess, my princess of ice, my hot-headed Arashi, my first son…Dante. They're all gone._

_**NARUTO! Snap out of it! You're kids are not gone!**_

"_Yes they are. They're not here. I left them. I abandoned them." _He moved to the edge of his bed, and dangled his feet over the side. His hands trailed along the side of his face, and tangled in his hair. "_I failed them."_

_**You came back FOR THEM! Don't you remember?**_

"_I-I don't-"_

_**Kit please stop panicking, everything is okay. They're fine. They're just a little later in the time stream.**_

"_Later?"_

_**Yes. Look at your hands, your feet.**_

Naruto pulled his fingers free from his blonde mane, but his eyes were too fuzzy from his tears that he couldn't see much.

_**They wouldn't have survived if they came back as far as we did. With their chakra, they went back thirteen years, with my chakra that they had they would have come back with you but they would have had no body. So my chakra pushed them back five more years and gave them their bodies back. You on the other hand went back twenty four years. **_The blonde struggled trying to accept what he was being told. _** Kit, you will see them again. **_He could feel the warmth in his tone, the conviction it held. And tears clung at the edges of his eyes clouding his sight.

"_Are you sure?"_

_**Positive.**_

He took a single, long, shuttered breath.

"_Thank Kami." _He collapsed backward. "_So if I went back twenty four years, I should be six, right?"_

_**Yeah about that, I had to give more of my chakra to your kids when we dropped them off at their time frame…to make their bodies. So there was a little side effect.**_

"_What do you mean?"_

_**Well, have you really looked at yourself?**_

"_Looked at myself?"_ His mind ran away from him as he rubbed his fists into his eyes and he couldn't help but marvel at his toes. His six-year…old…toes…except they didn't look that small. They looked a little bit…older. "_Kyuubi how old am I?"_

_*__**Cough*Six…in this time frame.**_

"_And physically?"_

_**Thirteen**_

"_That's nice. I-."_ He peered around his bed as two forms solidified. "_Hime's?" _In that brief moment, feelings were beyond him, he didn't know what to feel. He couldn't help but wonder how long they had been in his room. "_Shit." _Darkness crept over him once more.

-Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oo-ooooooooooooooooooooooo-oooooooooooooooooooo-

_**Fifteen minutes Earlier…**_

"What are you doing?" It was unusual to hear such a whining tone come from such a stoic woman. It was so odd that men actually turned their heads, wondering what other noises could escape her beautiful pouty lips. And it was also in that moment that they realized her friend was tipsy as hell. And a double take, to realize they were both barely fourteen.

Her purple haired friend dragged her from the bar. "I just wanna check on the gaki."

She sighed, pushing chakra to her feet, she became stationary. "Anko." Said woman froze, internally cringing from the tone in her voice. She couldn't suppress the mild shiver that ran down her form. And she definitely didn't want to look back. "It is 3 in the morning. He is sleeping." Anko turned back and locked gazes with her red-eyed best friend. She shifted beneath her penetrating gaze.

"I just need to check on him." Her gaze softened at the words that left her sadistic friends mouth. It was rare moments like these where the softer side, the younger side of her could be seen. It was the part that existed before her old sensei tossed her aside. _That bastard. _Her red-eyes hardened slightly. "Please?" And once again her eyes thawed. She never understood how that boy could bring this side out of her. But she loved it.

"Okay. Let's go." She relented and a large grin spread across Anko's lips. She hopped onto the nearest rooftop, with a showy flip. She was bouncing on the soles of her feet, while Kurenai shook her head in mild amusement.

"Alright Nai-chan, let's go!" She let out a weary chuckle as she followed her best friend. It's not like Anko ever gave her much choice.

They moved stealthily from the market district, and into the red light district. A slow frown crawled along both of their lips as they wondered why the six-year old had to live here by himself. _That damn old man. What is he thinking?_ It wasn't until five minutes later that they stopped on the rooftop and stared at the window across from them.

Anko stopped first. She didn't really understand it but something about that little brat always drew her in. Even though he never officially met her, she had always seen him. She helped him in any way that she could. And she took it upon herself to ensure his safety. She didn't know why but she couldn't let him get hurt, be it physically or emotionally. She leaned forward and jumped.

Kurenai watched as Anko clung to the side of his window. Chakra is the only thing that kept her from plummeting four stories. She shifted her gaze from her best friend to said friends focal point. The six year old, blonde haired and blue eyed cutie just slept peacefully. With whisker marks that made you want to pinch them and scream kawaii. _How could they think someone like him could be a demon? _She jumped over the gap between the buildings with a chakra enhanced leap, and clung to the window side, across from Anko. They shared a brief grin. "He's fine Anko. I told you he was going to be sleeping." She shot Anko a sly smile.

"Hehe just wanted to make sure." And the purple haired teen merely rubbed the back of her head with a slightly sheepish expression. "That mission was long." Her expression became somewhat forlorn.

Kurenai stared at her friend with a deadpan face, "We were gone a day." _I swear if we weren't standing on the side of a building she would've stomped her fo- well I guess I thought to soon._

"Yeah and it was so long. I mean look at him Nai-chan, he's such a cutie. I can't be away from my human sized plushy." Anko pouted.

"You do realize he's human size because he's human and not an actual plushy." She spoke sternly, while amusement danced within her crimson eyes. "Right?"

"Of course, semantics." A sweat drop formed on the back of her head at Anko's gleeful smile. She looked like she was on cloud nine.

"Of course." She drawled slowly. _He's still asleep. _"We should go."

"Bu-"

"Anko."

"Fine." She looked back one more time at his sleeping visage and couldn't help but smile at the little boy that had become the center of her world. And by extension Kurenai's as well.

They both channeled a small amount of chakra and prepared to leap off the side of the building when they felt a surge of frighteningly familiar chakra. It was only for a moment but then it was gone. They spun around in search of the source.

What they saw they would have never expected. The little six-year old they had just been admiring no longer existed. In his place rested a boy, his hair splayed around him and matted to his forehead. He seemed taller by maybe five inches. He didn't have rippling muscles or a six pack, but his stomach was defined and his arms and legs were wired with a lengthy set of muscle. His chest looked harder and more compact. His face seemed more angular, he looked maybe thirteen now.

They both stared shocked, at the person before them. And both couldn't help but think,_ what the hell just happened?_

The boy seemed motionless as Anko and Kurenai crept closer to his room. Anko reached out her hand and pushed aside his full length window. They watched his lips twitch, causing both to stop and listen as he spoke quietly. They channeled chakra to their ears to listen in on what the phenomenal boy had to say. "I came back…without them." They wanted to move closer but Naruto suddenly lurched over the edge of his bed releasing the contents of his stomach. "Without them. What have I done?" They gripped the edge of the windowsill and listened. Both were trying to make sense of his words.

He leaned back and seemed frozen against his sheets. His eyes snapped open and both recoiled, at the amount of grief and sorrow within his beautiful eyes. He mumbled softly, "Anko-." which had caused a momentary shut down, fearing she had been caught. He continued, "Kurenai-." And she too froze in confusion. His eyes held such pain that their hearts clenched for him. "Yugito, Haku… Nami, Dante, Arashi, Isis, my babies. All of them aren't here anymore. I'm alone again." His voice broke as tears fell from his eyes.

They crept closer, keeping to the shadows. Kurenai's nimble fingers moved through handsigns quickly, weaving a genjutsu around them, creating a veil, making them disappear from view; to everyone but those beneath the veil. They moved into the room and kept to the shadowed walls, as Naruto seemed lost in his own grief.

"What do I do? This hurts so much." His eyes snapped up for a moment and he mumbled. "Kyuubi-jii-san?" Both women shared a look, and signed each other.

'_Did he just say Kyuubi?' _Kurenai gave a hard nod. '_He knows about the fox?'_

'_He said Jii-san?_' They looked at Naruto as a twinge of fear crept into their eyes.

"Talk to me." He paused for a moment as if accepting something, his entire frame shuddered.

'_He can talk to the fox?' _

Anko slowly turned her head toward Kurenai, prying her eyes from the blonde enigma. _'Apparently not right now.'_

He wept silently, his whole body shaking from the force of his sobs. His lips trembled. "My family, my whole world, and they're…" His hand moved over his heart and they could only watch as he closed in on himself. "They're gone. They're all gone." They moved closer, as one. _Family? _They were confused but no matter how weird the situation seemed to be, the point of the matter was. This is Naruto, and he's in pain right now. They hovered over him as he brought his legs up to his chest. He looked so vulnerable. "Oh Kami what have I done? What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?" He rocked his body. "Oh Kami what did I do?!They're gone! They're all gone! It's my entire fault, I should've protected them. I shouldn't have left. What was I thinking?"

'_Any idea?'_

'_I have no clue.'_

"That's just it I wasn't thinking! And now my kids…I left my kids." He breathed in quickly, his air coming in bursts. "Kami, I abandoned my children. I can't believe it, I can't. My kids, my babies, my sochi's, my little Nami goddess, Isis my princess of ice, my hot-headed Arashi, my first son…Dante. My four babies. They're all gone. Kami I feel sick." He swallowed thickly, unaware of the two frozen women; each one, whose eyes widened at two certain names. Names that they knew without a doubt they would give to their children, should they have been born. They were particular ones they had just spoken about in the bar thirty minutes prior.

'_Nami?'_

'_Dante?'_

'_What the fuck?'_

Naruto froze for a moment as his eyes flashed red for a moment. "Yes they are. They're not here. I left them. I abandoned them." He moved to the edge of his bed, they crouched to his level as his hands went through his hair. Both cringed, as he pulled. "I failed them." They peered at his face, and watched as his eyes flashed red once more. "I-I don't-." Their eyebrows furrowed as his eyes flashed again. "Later?" They moved away as he stared at his hands.

'_He must be talking to the Kyuubi.' _Kurenai continued to stare as Naruto examined his hands, through puffy red eyes.

His cerulean eyes turned a bloody crimson for several seconds. "Are you sure?" They watched as he tried to calm himself, a light smile spreading across his lips."Thank Kami. So if I went back twenty four years, I should be six, right?"

'_Did he just say twenty-four years?' _Anko nodded dumbly. _This is impossible._

Confusion flitted across Naruto's features. "What do you mean?" He paused. "Looked at myself?" He rubbed his eyes free of his tears. He froze.

'_Went back?' _Kurenai moved closer to Naruto._ This just doesn't make any sense. He's talking about kids, and us, and he looks older, went back twenty-four years. But the only way for that to happen is…_Her head snapped to face Anko.

'_Time travel?'_

Naruto wouldn't move. "Kyuubi, how old am I?" His eyes flashed red."And physically?"His eyes flashed red one last time.

'_Oh Kami-sama.'_ She peered sideways and caught Anko's eye.

'_Answers Nai-chan."_ She dropped the veil. As Naruto shifted on his bed, his arm slipping off from where it hung over his eyes. "That's nice. I- Hime's?" His eyes went from confused to happy, ecstatic to grief stricken and settled on… "Shit." They both watched as he fainted.

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Anko moved closer, they both sat at the edge of the bed still trying to digest the information overload.

Kurenai reached her hand out towards Naruto's face and parted his hair. A soft, sad smile played along her lips. They watched im quietly as chakra began to coalesce around his abdomen. They both jumped off the bed as the red chakra took form. They stared wide-eyed as a fox now lay curled above Naruto's stomach.

They tripped backwards, on top of each other as the fox stood on its haunches, a mischievous grin stretched along his entire face. _**"Hello ladies, It's a pleasure to see you again. Now I believe you may have some questions."**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Kyuubi speech**_

_Inner thinking_

'_Speaking through sign language.'_

"Actual dialogue."

"_Conversations with Kyuubi."- _In Naruto's mind.

"_**Kyuubi speech in actual dialogue outside of Naruto's mind."**_

_Previously on, 'For the Love of Time!'_

_They tripped backwards, on top of each other as the fox stood on its haunches, a mischievous grin stretched along the length of his muzzle. __**"Hello ladies, It's a pleasure to see you again. Now I believe you may have some questions."**_

Chapter 3- Confessions of grief

_What do you say in the presence of the very destruction of your soul? Do you forgive? Kill? What could or would you possibly do or say? It is a question that has daunted many ninja._

Anko and Kurenai continued to recoil, their bodies moving of their own accord; while the fox merely inspected his claws, rubbing his head into his containers stomach.

_Holy shit!_

At least that seems to be the mutual consensus.

Yuhei Kurenai a dark haired, red eyed, soon-to-be infamous genjutsu mistress known throughout the world and future mother of Dante. Mitarashi Anko is a violet haired, violet eyed enigma, and self-proclaimed sadistic bitch, and future mother to Nami. And both women were future wives to one Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. Both of whom seem to be quivering in barely repressed fears.

They lay clustered in a heap on the hardwood floor of said future husbands run-down apartment; his bedroom to be more specific. They were mere academy students during the destruction of the fox six years ago. They weren't newly minted green gennin; they were powerful chunnin and cold to all except one.

Uzumaki Naruto.

They both sat, slightly cowering, in the dimming moonlight and watched on bated breath as the fox that once struck fear into their very cores, nuzzled his furry nose against his container. This elicited a soft sigh from the whiskered blond, now-apparent teen.

The sight would have been comical, had they not been scared half out of their minds. As it were, a deep booming chuckle reverberated through the tiny apartment. It carried a frightening sense of foreboding.

"_**You humans are very lucky."**_ He spoke with a tint of sadistic mirth that forced both women to cringe upon themselves. _**"Eh he, you humans, little ningens."**_ His large pointed ears fell back against his head as his chest rumbled with laughter.

Anko stood unsteadily as Kurenai shot her a warning glance but stood as well. She decided to follow Anko's lead and hoped the hot head didn't say anything stupid to offend the Kyuubi no kitsune. "Well what do you want? If you want to kill us I ain't gonna make it easy for you." She crouched in a battle stance deftly unsheathing two kunai.

Kurenai's jaw simply dropped at her friend's stupidity. _Why am I friends with her again? The woman's going to get me killed._ Nevertheless she too took a battle ready stance. She was prepared to defend.

"_**Silly women I do not wish to kill you. I could never kill the kit's mates. I would sooner rather die than to hurt you. To kill you would defeat our purpose of coming back in the first place." **_His head rose swiftly and placed a steely gaze upon the two, as their faces relaxed. He jumped off his perch that was Naruto's stomach, and moved off the bed. Moving on his haunches, he dropped his ears, and recoiled his tails in a non-threatening way. "_**Sit beside the kit and I shall explain."**_

Both women did as they were told and sat on either side of him.

Kurenai glanced at his peaceful face and ran a finger absently along his whisker marked cheeks, oblivious to the smirking fox in the room, and to the fact that Anko was currently mirroring her actions. Except her fingers- they hunted along his scalp, creating tresses through his blonde hair. Both seemed slightly entranced by the new Naruto.

He purred in his sleep as his body shifted toward Kurenai, pulling her into his sleeping embrace, forcing her cheeks color to match those of her eyes.

The Kyuubi chuckled along with Anko. Causing her eyes to narrow. "How did you escape the seal?"

He let out a bark of laughter. **"ESCAPE!? I was released."**

Anko's eyes darted in disbelief as Kurenai gasped. Her hands flew to cover her mouth in shock as she spoke. "He let you go?"

"**Who better to watch his kits, than a fox that'll tear all others to pieces that dare lay a single finger upon them?"** He spoke proudly.

"WHAT!" Both women chorused in shock. As the great Kyuubi sighed. He laid his jaw against the ground, while his paws covered his eyes, his ears pressed against his head. He let out a low groan of exasperation.

"**Okay ladies, I'm going to tell you a little story and you can choose to believe me or not, I would rather show you the memories but unfortunately for you the jutsu with that potential is currently as available to my use as opposable thumbs. So if you want confirmation wait for the kit to wake up and he could show you, but for now it's story time." **He sighed as they unconsciously moved closer to the sleeping form between them.

"**This story starts with a boy who fell in love, generic I know. But what isn't is that he fell in love with four different women all throughout the course of his life. The first two he met in the village he loved almost more than anything. They had protected him for years and he knew he just didn't know who they were. Whenever he was chased by mobs of villagers they would appear. One would place them in a genjutsu involving a setting sun and spandex." **Cue involuntary shudder to three individuals and one sleeping form.

"**And the other would send snakes after them that would inject them with poison. It was honestly hard to tell which group of villagers had it worse those poisoned or those mentally incapacitated." The fox let out a low bark of laughter. "Over the years they would pop in but he could never see their faces, they always wore masks, one was pure white like an angel and the other was a snake. Or, at least it gave the impression of a snake. Each time he would learn something more about them. Little quirks they had, and things they loved. The boy had it bad he just didn't know it." **Both glanced at Naruto with a small smile.

"**Then at age six they both disappeared, he was devastated. Their loving attention was gone, he didn't know how to bring them back, and he didn't know how to make the attacks stop. He curled in on himself for days he would cry, something he had never done before, at least not just for himself." **

"**Now he at this age was a very bright boy, he could easily be regarded as a genius. It truly was a shame and waste of limitless potential, and it was at this point that his thoughts turned darker. He realized that no one loved him or cared about him, but he still couldn't bring himself to hurt them…the villagers."**

"**How he endured all of that hate…" **The fox shook his muzzle slowly from side to side.** "…it mind-boggled, even me."**

"**He began pranking everyone in sight, desecrating the monument, a capital offence in its own right proved advantageous for the boy. He improved his speed, strength and overall prowess. But with these advantages came drawbacks like larger chakra pools something that forbade him from doing the simplest of jutsus, and yet something so easily fixed had he started chakra control training at a young age, but without the proper guidance during that time his control was disastrous." **He sighed at the confused look on Kurenai's face.

Her eyebrows furrowed,"What do you mean by darker?"

The fox hesitated and ground his teeth together as he spoke through thin lips.** "He doubted himself…tried to kill…himself." **He couldn't look at them, his tails coiled around his body protectively.

A pungent salted smell filled the air as small droplets met the paleness of the bedroom sheets. He didn't need to look to know of their reactions.** "The kit hated himself. He thought he had done something wrong. He gave up on becoming a ninja that is until graduation day." **He took a deep breath as the two women steeled their nerves. **"He decided that after he failed he would be a civilian and would leave the village, he wanted to as I believe he said **_**'go out with a bang'. **_**The boy painted all the Hokage faces in broad daylight wearing a neon orange jumpsuit."**

He sighed with a slightly rueful chuckle.** "Chunnin, jounins, and no problem he outran them all leading them on a wild goose chase throughout the entirety of the village. It was in one moment he froze, a figure landed before him a bear mask. The boy was perplexed by the sight of him that he let himself be taken. He was so lost within his own thoughts that it took a few shouts for the Hokage to get the boy to focus on him. When he finally did, he only asked one question, **_**'Who were those people in masks.'**_** I don't believe the old geezer ever realized the significance of his answer, **_**'They are the Hokages personal guard, and they are unbiased and protect the Hokages and their lineage of past and present. They go only where I tell them to.'**_

"**That boy he is so damn hard headed. He realized that the two women he fell in love with were Anbu, and it was also when he decided to do one of four things that forever altered his life. That night he would break into the old man's office and discovers who his wayward loves were. He failed his gennin examination for the inability to create a decent bunshin. And it was then that he was approached by a biased academy teacher that thought the boy naïve and spoke of a different way to pass…to steal the forbidden scroll of jutsus and learn a single jutsu from within. Naruto humored the man as far as breaking into the tower. It was within the files above the old man's desk that he learned the names of his himes…Anko Mitarashi and Kurenai Yuhei, they were chunnin currently stationed in Kaminari no kuni. They were set to return in two days to become joint jonin instructors to the newest batch of gennin, with a special request to have Naruto Uzumaki as one of their students. It was a hard blow for the boy to take, but he knew now that he needed to become a gennin. Now that he knew that they didn't leave him. He took the scroll, learned the shadow clone technique, confronted the traitor, returned the scroll, and became a gennin. It was a feat worthy of Konohagakures #1 hyperactive knuckleheaded ninja."**

"And downright proud of that to Kyuu-jisan, thank you very much." A sleepy voice grumbled from between the two chunnin.


End file.
